This 10-lesson sequence designed for a sixth grade science course explores the following questions: How can humans lessen the harsh effects of extreme heat?How does surface cover affect surface temperature? / Why do different materials experience differences in surface temperature?How might human activities impact the temperatures in the different communities?How can humans mitigate the effects of heat islands?Using the framework from Dr. Gholdy Muhammad outlined in her book Cultivating Genius, each lesson pays special attention to looking at pursuits in identity, skills, intellect, criticality, and joy to support equity in the classroom. Please Remix this template for your purposes.

Through this interactive, hands-on lesson, students will read and gain an understanding of Aldo Leopold’s essay, “January Thaw”. This lesson is best taught in January and/or when animal tracks are present outside.

This series of 5 high-quality, standards-aligned, inquiry-based activities and two environmental STEM challenge activities have been field-tested by kindergarten students and families of Wequiock Children's Center for Environmental Science during Safer At Home orders. These activities encourage students to use natural areas around their homes and in their neigbhorhoods as they improve their science observation and reasoning skils as they explore the science of pushes and pulls in nature. The materials used are ones generally available at home and the activites require little preparation on the part of caregivers. Created as a part of a WISELearn OER Innovation project, Connect, Explore, and Engage: Using the Environment as the Context for Science Learning was a collaboration of the Wequiock Children's Center for Environmental Science and the Wisconsin Green Schools Network. One of the goals of the project was to create standards-aligned lessons that utilize the outdoor spaces of the school (as well as those of the students' homes).  Each section of this resource is an individual activity. While each activity builds on the previous ones, it is possible to use them individually.The title image was used with permission and is courtesy of Joe Riederer.

Students will use hands-on models, maps, and the natural landscape to describe landforms in our area and and develop and understanding of the effects of water and wind on these landforms. Prior to these lessons, students will have had experiences with the use of "I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of" protocols as well as field journaling. This is a unit for second grade landforms that culminates in a visit to Roche-A-Cri State Park.

This lesson uses the an inquiry-based approach to learning modified from the BEETLES Learning Cycle to explore wind and wind energy. 

Students in Grades 3 & 4 at Chain Exploration Center developed an understanding of the important role that pollinators play in human food systems as well as in native habitats. Students also learned about the stressors, many of them human-influenced, that are associated with the decline in pollinator populations. Students also learned about ways that humans can improve pollinator habitat. The culmination of student learning was an environmental stewardship project: the installation of a pollinator garden on the school grounds. What follows is an outline of the project process and a discussion of the resources that were used. 

Context: The Bayfield High School Alternative Education program works collaboratively with the Red Cliff Treaty Natural Resources (TNR) Division on a variety of projects. One of the favorite projects focuses on monitoring carnivores in the Red Cliff/Bayfield area. One component of this project involves the placement of several remote trail cameras within local natural areas. TNR staff help students identify potential camera location areas. Several times throughout the school year, students retrieve the memory cards from the cameras and record observations based on the photos and videos. A second component of this project involves TNR providing the students with regular updates regarding progress of their ma’iingan (wolf) studies. TNR has access to data obtained from radio and GPS collared ma’iinganag (wolves) from a variety of local packs. Through this project, Bayfield students learn about wolf ecology, the cultural value of wolves, and connections to their immediate surroundings.

Maple Grove Charter School, Athens School District, is a Grades K-5 elementary school located the heart of the rural Town of Hamburg. The school takes its name from the school forest on its site. Built in 1904, the school has annual tradition of tapping the maple trees. What started as a first grade classroom project has expanded as students from each grade level identify, tap, and collect sap from two trees. Unit plans have been created for each grade level to address agriculture, science, literacy, social studies, math, and environmental literacy standards. While the sap collecing routines remain relevatively constant each year, the learning opportunties have been differentiated by grade level so that students are always learning new content and skills.In the following unit plan discussion readers will learn about the schoolwide project from the perspective of teachers in Grades 1 and 5.Students in Grade 1 learn about maple tree identification and the traditional and modern tools and technologies employed in sap collection and syrup production. Their fifth grade counterparts continue to grow in their understanding of the tapping, collection, and production processes, and take on the role of entrepreneurs as they develop their brand and market the finished pure maple syrup.

Students in Grades 1 & 2 at Chain Exploration Center developed an understanding of the maple syrup production and its importance as an agribusiness. Students also learned about plant structures and their role in photosynthesis and the ecosystem services of sugar maple trees. The culmination of student learning was a project showcase in the form of a Maple Tree Museum to which parents and community members were invited. What follows is an outline of key place-based lessons and experiences that supported students’ learning.

High Marq Environmental Charter School is a project and place based school that serves grades 6-12 in Marquette County, Wisconsin.Each week our students participate in a full day field experience designed to connect, explore and engage with the outdoors. These lessons were all a part of those experiences with the exception of the math language field guide which was part of a math seminar.

This unit focuses on measurement and data for second-grade. The second-graders learn how to accurately measure natural objects using nonstandard units (unifix cubes) and standard units (inches). During field experiences, the students learned how to use field guides and how to collect data for a BioBlitz. Students used their data to create bar graphs, picture graphs, and analyzed their data.

Through the use of culturally-relevant texts in a 3rd and 4th social studiens unit on Menominee history, students took a deep dive into learning about the significance of the Lake Sturgeon. Traditional stories as well as nonfiction pieces from and about the Menominee people, students experienced the interconnectedness of the people and their environment.A summary of student learning experiences as well as a bibliography of texts are included as part of this OER.

Author: Ned Dorff, Teacher, Aldo Leopold Community School, Green Bay Area Public SchoolsUnit Title: Monarch MathGrade Level: 2nd gradeContent Areas: Mathematics, Science, Social StudiesContext: Second grade students engaged in a seven-lesson integrated math, science, and social studies unit of study of monarch butterflies, migration, life cycles, and habitat needs. The unit concluded with students proposing environmental actions to help protect and support the endangered Monarch butterfly.

Established in the mid-nineteenth century, Native American Boarding schools were created as an attempt to eliminate traditional Native American ways of life and replace them with mainstream American culture. Often forcibly removed from their families, communities, and stripped of their cultural practices, Native American children experienced physical and emotional abuse at the hands of those in control of boarding school operations, resulting in intergenerational trauma. These sources bring users into contact with documents that help give them a sense of what life was like for students who attended Native American boarding schools. These sources also give users an understanding of the national perspective of how Native Americans and their culture were targeted.

Author: Ned Dorff, Teacher, Aldo Leopold Community School, Green Bay Area Public SchoolsUnit Title: Nature Journaling Indoors and Outdoors for the Primary GradesGrade Level: 1st and 2nd gradeContent Area(s): Writing, ScienceStudents learned how to nature journal in the classroom during the late winter and then used our skills to head out into our neighborhood for outdoor journaling experiences. With the aid of an eagle cam, we were able to explore science concepts of life cycles over the period of several months. Our practice indoors also allowed us to transfer knowledge to what we were seeing outside.

Content Area(s):Environmental LiteracyWisconsin Standards for Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Addressed: ELS.C1: Students develop and connect with their sense of place and well-being through observation, exploration, and questioning.Context: Individual children participated in observing nature outside the public library (or online or natural exhibits inside the library). Observation Experiences:1) Daffodils2) Painted Lady Caterpillars and Butterflies3) Tree frogs4) Mosquitoes5) One Square Foot Observations

Unit Title: Near Nature Exploration Developed by Tiffany Lodholz, High Marq Environmental Charter School Grade Level:6-12 Content Area(s): Environmental Science, Science, ELAOver the course of a semester students in grades 6-12 engaged in various nature journaling activities that allowed them to connect, explore, and engage with the environment around them. Students participated in monthly phenological observations, discovered ways to use nature journaling for scientific study, and developed new techniques for looking closer and making deeper, more meaningful observations.A series of five outdoor nature journaling lessons are described:Qualitative PhenologyNature JournalingSAUNTERBug RadnessFrog Fest!

Author: Tammy Moncel, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School Middle School, Integrated ScienceProtection of freshwater on Earth is a global responsibility but the Native American efforts to protect the Great Lakes Freshwater is of particular interest to the people throughout Wisconsin. The movie “Bad River” is a relevant perspective of some key arguments from the view of the water protectors in Native American communities. This documentary highlights Native speakers and the defiance of the Bad River tribe required to stand up to oil companies. This movie was used at the end of our school year (coinciding with the release date of the documentary) to promote understanding of the Native American perspective of issues that have been a great source of media attention throughout the state of Wisconsin. A major part of understanding the importance of freshwater protection includes an understanding of the water cycle. The very simplified version of the water cycle includes precipitation, evaporation and condensation. The handouts of these words with pictures and Ojibwemowin translations gives students a starting point to talk about water as a closed system with continuous recycling in nature. My students were able to connect the English vocabulary meaning to the descriptive Ojibwemowin translation.

This series of 5 high-quality, standards-aligned, inquiry-based lessons have been field-tested by the 4K students of Wequiock Children's Center for Environmental Science, their teacher and educational assistant. These lessons encourage students to use natural areas around their school as they improve their science and engineering skills as part of a unit on observing changes. Created as a part of a WISELearn OER Innovation project, Connect, Explore, and Engage: Using the Environment as the Context for Science Learning was a collaboration of the Wequiock Children's Center for Environmental Science and the Wisconsin Green Schools Network. One of the goals of the project was to create standards-aligned lessons that utilize the outdoor spaces of the school . These lessons were created to take place during late winter.

While the United States had officially guaranteed Native American rights and recognized the sovereignty of Native American nations through several legally binding treaties since the eighteenth century, the government repeatedly violated these treaties, opening land that was reserved for Indian nations to settlers, speculators, and developers. Native Americans’ right to a sovereign existence included maintaining traditional relationships to the lands and waters that Native peoples had historically used. But 200 years of treaty violations, land theft, and forced assimilation by the federal government threatened the existence of many Indian nations. In their protests to the federal government from 1968 to 1978, Native American activists demanded that the federal government honor its treaty obligations so that tribes could restore their traditional relationships to the land, an effort that continues today. The National Park Service, as a steward of many Indigenous lands, played a significant role in this history that will continue into the future.